Lacrosse is a popular team sport in which players use a stick having a head that is strung with a loose mesh basket designed to catch and hold a lacrosse ball. The art of cradling the ball within the basket is one that requires much practice and skill. Many people enjoy practicing this sport indoors, but the standard lacrosse ball is relatively dense and hard and can cause damage to furniture and other property.
There are many existing devices for practicing lacrosse techniques. For example, the B-LAX LACROSSE REBOUNDER™ is a device having a ball with a hole, a line passed through the ball and knotted on one end, and plastic clip that engages the other end of the line and secures to a frame of a lacrosse stick. The B-LAX LACROSSE REBOUNDER™ includes a relatively complex clip and line engagement mechanism, and it is for use with a relatively long line, such as for throwing and catching a ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,247,107 discloses a lacrosse ball that meets generally accepted rules of construction but provides a more impact-absorbing surface than conventional lacrosse balls. The ball has a hollow interior and a resilient shell that deforms when the ball impacts a surface to lessen the physical impact when the ball strikes a breakable object, such as furniture.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0058129 discloses a practice aid having a rear cover portion and a flexible front cover portion including a front neck portion. The cover portion compliments the basket of a lacrosse stick so that a user can practice cradling without fear of dropping the ball from the stick.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0082141 discloses a lacrosse practice tethered assembly including a fastener loop, an elastic cord, and a lacrosse ball. The elastic cord is secured to the fastener loop on one end of the cord and the lacrosse ball on the second end of the cord. The cord is secured to a lacrosse ball by passing a portion of the cord through a hole in the ball and tying the loop into a knot. The length of cord between the ball and the stick is between 7-10 feet, or alternatively, between 6-12 feet.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0197711 discloses a lacrosse practice device having a lacrosse ball connected to a lacrosse stick with a return cord. The cord is attached to the ball by passing the cord through a bore and knotting the cord at a point on the cord. The cord is attached to the stick with a band that straps to a lacrosse stick and secures using a hook-and-loop fastener.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0105502 discloses a lacrosse practice or training device including a clip, a cord, and a ball attachment. The clip is plastic and secures to a frame of the lacrosse stick. The cord is attached to the ball using a bore with two different diameters: a small diameter portion that permits the cord to pass through, but prevents the knot to pass through, and a large diameter portion that permits the knot to sit within the ball. The cord is anywhere from 3-15 feet in length.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0298619 discloses a lacrosse training system including a lacrosse stick and a training assembly coupled to the stick. The training assembly may include a ball, an anchoring device and a tether extending between the ball and the anchoring device. The tether may be between about 8 inches and about 12 inches, or between about 6 inches to about 14 inches in length. The tether is coupled to the ball with a complicated anchor embedded partway inside the ball, and to the stick with a fastening mechanism including a bulky hook-and loop strap and a ring portion.
Despite the disclosures of the above devices, there remains a need in the art for a lacrosse practice and training device designed for practicing cradling and other short-range maneuvers such as dodges, fakes, switching hands and transitions to throws and shots, that has a secure connection between the cord and the ball and the cord and the stick that does not substantially impact the feel or behavior of the ball, and that is inexpensive to produce and simple to use.